Healthcare

Experts decode germs’ DNA to fight food poisoning

By Lauran Neergaard
Published April 7, 2014 6:39am ET
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Experts decode germs’ DNA to fight food poisoning
This photo taken Nov. 25, 2013 shows microbiologist Dr. Molly Freeman pulling Listeria bacteria from a tube to be tested for its DNA fingerprinting in a foodborne disease outbreak lab at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. The nation's disease detectives are beginning a program to try to outsmart outbreaks by routinely decoding the DNA of deadly bacteria and viruses. The initial target: Listeria, a kind of bacteria that's the third-leading cause of death from food poisoning, and one that's especially dangerous to pregnant women. Already, the technology has helped to solve a small listeria outbreak that killed one person in California and sickened seven others in Maryland.(AP Photo/David Goldman) | David Goldman

WASHINGTON (AP) — Chances are you’ve heard of mapping genes to diagnose rare diseases, predict your risk of cancer and tell your ancestry. But to uncover food poisonings?

The nation’s disease detectives are beginning a program to try to outsmart outbreaks by routinely decoding the DNA of potentially deadly bacteria and viruses.

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